Herbert Smith Moscow lures Salans Tax Partner

Herbert Smith has recruited to its partnership one of Russia’s top younger generation lawyers. Oleg Konnov a tax specialist and presently a partner in Salans’ highly regarded Moscow office. He will join Herbert Smith’s 27-lawyer Moscow office on a date to be finalised.

Oleg joined Salans in 1994 and became a partner in 2002. He heads the firm’s Russian tax practice. The focal points of his practice are tax structuring, planning and litigation work. In his capacity as advisor to the Russian parliamentary board on the development of tax legislation, he has helped shape Russian tax law.

Herbert Smith’s award-winning Moscow office has established itself as one of the leading international law firms in Moscow in the last few years. The firm’s distinctive balance of transactional and contentious capabilities has seen it thrive in Russia’s complex and dynamic business environment.

Pivotal to its success have been the lateral hires of finance specialist John Balsdon and litigation expert Dmitri Kurochkin, and the relocation from London of corporate partners Allen Hanen (managing partner of the office) and Robin Wittering. In addition, increasing inward investment and the emergence of a large number of Russian companies with global aspirations have underlined the importance of the office to the firm’s international network.

The office’s progress is borne out by the roster of blue-chip Russian clients it now advises, such as the Alfa Group, Nafta Moskva and Moscow Narodny Bank, and the international mandates it has secured. These instructions include advising a subsidiary of Sinopec on its recent US$3.5 billion acquisition of a TNK-BP operating subsidiary, advising BP on its $1 billion investment in the IPO of OAO Rosneft and, in 2005, acting for ABN Amro and ING on the $1.4 billion debt restructuring of OAO TNK.

Herbert Smith LLP is an international legal practice with 1100 lawyers (including over 200 partners) and a network of offices in Europe and Asia. It has a formal alliance with leading German firm Gleiss Lutz and leading Dutch and Belgian firm Stibbe. On 1 April 2005 Herbert Smith became Herbert Smith LLP, a limited liability partnership. www.herbertsmith.com